Introducing Kaisean Roseboro; A SOTA Alumni Making Moves In Music

Tell us a little about yourself, where you’re from, grew up, what H.S./College you attended etc.

Well, I’m Kaisean, and I’m the music producer known as “Go-Rilla.” I was born in Long Island, but fully-raised in Rochester, New York. I’m 22 years old, graduated from Rochester School of the Arts, (Class of 2013). I’m a part of a music collective known as “No Fair Ones” or NFO for short. The collective consists of me, Ishmael Raps, KZA K’Lee, Ars-Nova and Cae Jones. Also my favorite color is Red.

What inspired you to be an artist/entertainer? Early experiences worth sharing?

Well, I’ve always loved music they way everyone else did, radio hits, trendy pop songs, and whatever was common. But then it got to a point where the intricate parts of music started to interest me. The way music was layered, how sounds we’re made, and the process of how songs became songs. The overall studio culture always caught my eye. And the more I learned about it, the more it fascinated me and it still does. I didn’t start acting on it until I was about 14 and my uncle Kirk gave me my first Keyboard. It was this bulky Casio Keyboard with one broken key that I think probably broke off on the way to my house. And it was made for kids too, it had “Three Blind Mice” on there, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” a lot of the Nursery Rhyme bangers, it was fire. But it became one of my first instruments I used to start my producer career and I’m always grateful for it.

Talk about a time where you have faced adversity/conflict and have triumphed.

My career choice to be a producer has definitely faced some conflict. Growing up, I was always seen as a great writer or a journalist, and for some time I thought the same. I liked writing and journalism, but then in my high school years, I realized I didn’t ‘love’ it. Like, at all. The passion wasn’t there in the same way I had it for music. So I started to distance myself from it and then just stopped doing it almost completely. I lost interest, which was bad because I got accepted into the School of the Arts for creative writing. It affected my grades, my attendance, and ultimately my mentality, it was a depressing experience because I felt so limited to this one thing that I don’t even like anymore. My parents weren’t really having it at first, as well as some of my peers. They wanted me to be a writer so bad. Music wasn’t a priority to them like it was to me so they couldn’t really understand it. But then they seen the amount of happiness and knowledge I gained from making music and how committed I was to it, because I was very serious about it. And over time they began to accept it and eventually began supporting me 100%. It wasn’t immediate, but they did nonetheless. So my triumph is essentially doing something that I love and receiving support for it. So, shout out to my family and friends for that, I love y’all.

What do you believe sets you apart from other artists/entertainers?

I would have to say it’s my sound. A lot of music and production nowadays contains just loops of sounds and drums that are just rearranged into songs or samples with just drums over it. NOT bashing it at all, a lot of producers and artists usually finesse it into something great, but I never felt comfortable with just doing that. My music usually focuses on detail and variation. Switch-ups, dedicated parts that signify “Oh this is great for a hook or bridge” and just overall range of production and sound quality. I work hard on that and I want to make sure it sets me apart from other producers and other production. I wouldn’t say I’m a perfectionist, but I’m very selective and direct with how I want my music to sound.

Do you have other interests or hobbies?

Yeah! I love stand-up and improv. In fact, it’s something I really want to pursue again soon as well. I used to do it in highschool and I had a blast, I appreciate humor so much. I also love video games. I play Halo a lot, but I’m high-level trash. So if anyone’s willing to play with against/me in Halo or any other competitive game, lower your expectations. Like, to the floor. Actually, dig a hole that’s roughly 3-4 feet, and just throw your expectations in it. That’s how trash I am. I also like gardening.

Any projects you have out or currently working on?

Not solely, but I am bouncing around and getting production on projects of other artists. My NFO brothers are working on projects that I’m apart of, my Chinza homies got projects that I’m apart of, and so much more. You’ll definitely be hearing some music from me this year. I’m also becoming more active on soundcloud, I’m dropping music on there too, nowadays. I will start working on my own project soon, though. It’s gonna be something special and I hope people will like it. But right now i’m mostly focused on placements and other projects. I also erased all of my past projects from the internet or at least most of it. It was all trash so I had to lol.

Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years?

Well alive, hopefully. And successful in my profession. Touring with my brothers and traveling the world while having my own place somewhere in Cali or wherever there’s no snow, with a car that I shouldn’t be able to afford in this economy. On top of that, I wanna be working with the artists and idols i’ve always wanted to work with, doing things that I’ve always wanted to do in life and just gaining great memories and experiences. It’s either all of that, or I see myself getting rejected on the kiss cam at a Red Wings game. It’s one of those two things, there’s really no medium.

What advice can you give to aspiring artists/entertainers?

Don’t stop. Be consistent with your work and study your profession more than anything else. Crave improvement and always desire to be experimental. Remember, every major icon was trash at some point, every last one of them. But they never stopped going for it. You gotta fall in love with your craft to truly accept it and prosper. Also quality is way better than quantity. Like, not even close. Always focus on quality. No one ever complains about excellent quality. You can always improve in that area.

How can we follow along in your journey? Social media?

Definitely social media. My twitter, instagram, and soundcloud is @KaiGoRilla, I post my music, music updates and personal thoughts on there. Sometimes I’m funny, other times I’m funny too, I never really take social media seriously, but those three are definitely the best ways to follow me on my journey. For business inquiries, you can contact me at KGRBeats@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

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